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November 28, 2014

So I decided to check the Smash Bros. wiki to see if there were any nuances I missed in
the new game -- you know, to try and make some of those intangibles more
tangible. I already knew about the Tekken-style rage effect built in (get
hit a lot, do more damage), but the wiki suggests that not only is there
increased knockback, but also the inability to act out of hitstun. It seems like a minor thing -- and it is,
because not every player even knows what hitstun is -- but that nuance does
mean something in the long run, especially for those who care immensely about the under-the-hood
mechanics. Among other things.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that
whether you’re aware of the changes or not (or if I am, in all fairness), Smash 4 feels more…well, I don’t want to
use this word exactly, but since I can’t think of a better fit, let’s go ahead
and use “legit”. I don’t know if this
game will replace Melee as the EVO
standard, if it’ll be able to exist simultaneously, or if it’ll just be cast
aside by the old guard. But I think it’s
at least capable of making it there, and being welcomed by the fighting game
community.

Which brings me to the point of the day:
Nintendo’s master plan. Or my vision of
it, at least.

November 27, 2014

Before I get started, there’s one thing I have to
mention: I’ve been playing this game exclusively with the Wii Classic
Controller Pro (the one that came with Monster
Hunter Tri). As I’ve established by
now, I don’t have any problems with the Wii U GamePad; the issue is that
playing Smash 4 means completely
un-learning how to play with a GameCube controller. This has been…an issue on a consistent basis.
I need to get used to the new controller, but it’s the closest facsimile
to the GC pad I’ve got right now.

So yeah, no commentary on how the GamePad figures
in this time around. So let’s put our
focus back on the game -- though before we do that? Let’s have a moment of silence for my
brother’s GC pad. After years of
smashing, it finally gave out on him.

November 26, 2014

On his way out one night, a friend of mine jokingly
said that PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
is pretty much dead to us now. I don’t
want to say that he’s right…but yeah, he’s right. The only reason to ever touch Sony’s mascot
fighter again is if every copy of Smash 4
and every Wii U spontaneously exploded.
And I’m sorry to say it, but I just don’t see that happening.

November 25, 2014

Is it redundant for me to talk about the mechanics
of a game when there’s been a version of it out for nearly two months before
this point? Yes, of course. But let’s go ahead and do it anyway,
because…uh…holiday filler?

November 24, 2014

So I’ve put some time into Smash 4 -- more than I thought, but less than I’d hoped. By which I mean there have been several
moments in the past few days where I thought to myself “I don’t want to
sleep. I just want to smash all night
long!”

That should probably tell you everything you need
to know about how I feel about this game.

But for the sake of a VERY short post (hopefully),
let’s start going over some of the particulars.
It’ll be fun. Just, you know, not
as much fun as playing the game.

November 17, 2014

So I saw part of Gravity the other day, and I have to say, I wasn’t really feeling
it. Granted I was trying to put
something together, and my dogs were being so wild that I eventually gave up on
watching the movie in peace, but I went in expecting it to grab me from the get-go
and it didn’t. That’s not to say that
it’s bad or anything. It just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into the characters, and it
felt as if the movie could have (and should have) ended as soon as they
spiraled into space. Weirdly, that’s
a sentiment mirrored elsewhere -- and I have to wonder how far off the mark
I am when most of the praise thrown its way comes from the visuals. Because clearly, the only thing that matters
is how good something looks. Thanks,
video games!

Maybe I’ll give the movie another shot when I can
give it my full attention, but there is one thing I took away from it: SPACE IS
AWESOME. There may still be
plenty of mysteries left here on Earth, but the stars are the premiere source
of adventure in both fiction and real life.
Anything could be out there, but the one surefire thing is the potential
for exploration. Space can scratch that
itch, and take us to whole new places.
Admittedly, that adventure is only possible with some hyper-rigorous
training and skill in real life (a sobering truth for six-year-old Voltech),
but games can compensate easily.

Which brings us to Pikmin 3 -- the game you should have played already if you love
games. And/or space.

November 13, 2014

To be honest, I’m kind
of surprised I do. I mean, I used to
watch it, but it ended up slipping off my radar for one reason or another. It probably had something to do with its
creator taking ill, which led to the manga going on hiatus, which of course led
to the anime getting stalled into oblivion well before the story’s
conclusion. It’s kind of a shame,
because thinking back, I enjoyed the show.
I suspect that I have a secret appreciation for stories with a twinge of
the macabre – at least if my enjoyment of that show, Bleach, and Soul Eater are
anything to go by. (Though it’s my
understanding that Bleach fell apart
a while ago, so who knows if I’m still a “true” fan.)

The reason I bring up D. Gray Man is because I recently
realized that I started getting into it right around the time I started my
story. I wouldn’t exactly call it an
influence by any means, but having looked at some old files, I realized that
one of my characters was – or used to be – heavily based on one of that series’
characters. Not in terms of skill sets,
of course. In terms of appearance? No
doubt. You know me – striking visual
design is something I value. It can be
(emphasis on “can”) the first step toward making a good character.

And “striking” is
probably the exact word I’d use for one of these characters. Or, alternatively, “absurd”.

November 10, 2014

In the first fifteen seconds of the game, you’re
treated to a slow-motion shot of Bayonetta that -- of course -- pans straight
down to her crotch. Barely a minute
later, you’re commandeering and piloting an angelic mech to wreak havoc on your
foes. And in one of the early cutscenes, she kicks an incoming jet well above a spread of skyscrapers. Seems like a reasonable start, yes?

Chances are you don’t need me to tell you how good Bayo2 is (my answer being “absurdly good”). It’s gotten high marks all over, and proven
that the wait was worthwhile. If not for
Nintendo, there would be no Bayo2 --
and now more than ever, I’m glad that the Big N extended a helping hand. Granted I’m not sure if I like it more
than Metal Gear Rising or The Wonderful 101, but that’s a moot
point; those three can stand shoulder-to-shoulder as a trinity of awesome
games. I don’t have any problems leaving
it at that.

But there’s more to say about Bayo2. MUCH more. Dare I say it, TOO MUCH more.

November 6, 2014

I’m not the type to tag scores and numbers to my
opinions, but I can see why people would give Platinum’s latest such high marks
(including a hyper-rare ten out of ten from Gamespot!). There’s plenty of good stuff in the
game. And even if the ride’s destined to
end -- albeit after a healthy play time -- it strikes me as the sort of game I
can and WILL play through again. I did
the same with Devil May Cry 3, after
all. Dat Vergil battle…

Still, I’ve had The Evil Within on my mind for a while now. I…didn’t care for it, so you can chalk
it up as yet another disappointment in the eighth-gen library. But while I don’t have any problems heaping
hate on stuff like Watch Dogs or Destiny, a part of me feels bad for
being unable to like Shinji Mikami’s latest.
It could have been the one,
man. But it wasn’t. And the more I think about it, the more I
realize that there’s a reason for it. TEW may have been botched, but it made
me realize how much potential and how many possibilities there are when you
make good use of horror elements.

November 3, 2014

If I had to guess, I’d say that those who play and
love Zelda don’t exactly look to it
for the combat. It’s more about the
adventure; exploration, and clearing dungeons, and whatnot. It may seem strange to say that, seeing as
how you can’t divorce the canon from collected weapons and magic swords, but
fights are just blips on the radar.
They’re events you encounter along the way, even with the massive bosses
you’re typically pitted against. It
really says a lot about the design philosophy when there was no built-in,
intentional focus on combat until roughly 2011.

So Hyrule
Warriors shows what happens when you let someone else interpret your work (meaningfully and skillfully,
at least). Now the focus is almost
entirely on the combat, and shows just what happens when Link and Zelda and all
the rest get to go all out against the forces of evil. As others have suggested, Hyrule Warriors is when and how we
finally get to see some of the big battles and wars of lore unfold before our
eyes. I can’t think of a lot of ways to
exponentially increase the scale of Zelda’s
conflicts, so maybe giving the canon that Musou/Dynasty Warriors twist
is the best way to go about it.

That all said, Hyrule
Warriors is probably the worst Wii U game I’ve played yet.